Why is early detection so important?
There were 106,680 new cases of colon cancer in 2006 and 55,170 deaths from colon and rectal cancers combined. When colon cancer is localized to the bowel and surgical resection of the affected bowel is the primary form of treatment, the cure rate is 50%. The longer cancerous cells stay inside the bowel, the more damage they can cause. Why is that? The prognosis of patients with colon cancer is related to the following: • Degree of penetration of cancer cells through the bowel wall. • Presence or absence of lymph node involvement. • The presence of metastasis (spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body.) Early detection and treatment is therefore essential to a patient’s outcome.
Haemochromatosis often remains undiscovered or is diagnosed too late since not all patients develop the full blown disease and it is difficult to make an appropriate differential diagnosis on the basis of the uncharacteristic early symptoms. Even classical laboratory parameters (transferrin, serum ferritin, liver biopsy) can indeed be normal in individual patients. In young haemochromatosis patients the amount of stored iron may not yet be pathologically elevated due to the age. Even women present a relative good iron balance due to the periodic blood loss during menstruation. Hence it is extremely important to know the genetic constellation of a patient in order to initiate timely therapeutic measures. If the disease is detected in time, it is not likely to lead to a reduction in the life expectancy whereas the prognosis of the disease without treatment is poor. Who should have a genetic analysis? Nowadays a molecular genetic analysis can be used to rapidly and simply test whether a g
Early detection of imbalances through a monthly ThePetCheckup screen alerts you that your animal needs medical attention, even when symptoms are not yet apparent. At this point, your veterinarian has the best chance of treating the disease effectively, or even curing it. If the problem is caught early enough, your veterinarian may be able to prevent an imbalance from becoming a disease. In a study conducted in 2000 by the Pet Health and Nutrition Center in Corning, NY, it was estimated that, when detected early, 74.7% of the common diseases in dogs and 63% of the common diseases in cats can be prevented by dietary modifications alone over a one-year period. So, just as with humans, animals have the greatest chance at recovery, comfort, and longevity when problems are found early.
